Key Issues

 

Domestic economy and job creation

We need a stimulus plan for the U.S. economy in the form of a three-year domestic investment bill, to jump-start state and local economies, rather than a giveaway program for friends of politicians. Current solutions offered by Washington are only temporary, at best. We need a permanent solution. The U.S. economy cannot prosper without a vibrant middle class and small businesses. Small businesses provide gainful employment and technological innovation. To rebuild our economy we need to create 25 million livable wage jobs nationwide. In Illinois, we need at least 1 million livable wage jobs. To accomplish that Stan proposes a federally funded, three-year stimulus plan for the state of Illinois in the amount of $25 billion per year for the next three years. Each state will receive its own plan based on unemployment and local needs. This will jump start local economies and eliminate local budget holes. Stan's plan will lead to better economic conditions, as well as allow to lower taxes. Stan's three-year stimulus plan will provide adequate funding for capital infrastructure projects, education, and healthcare through federal funding rather than raising local taxes. The Federal government can also provide funding for starting new businesses and infrastructure improvements that are needed, which will create new jobs and jump-start the economy nationwide.

Elect Stan Jagla - Not recession

 

Taxes

Good tax policy can stimulate an economy; bad tax policy can cause serious damage to our economy, the Bush economic policies being a prime example of what not to do. We need to restore fair taxes by providing a permanent tax relief for the middle class and small businesses. Under Stan's plan, all families and small businesses with incomes less than $2.5 million will receive a permanent tax relief. No more taxation without representation. The middle class and small businesses are overtaxed so that generous, wealthy, political donors can enjoy tax breaks. This patronage for the friends of politicians, at the expense of our communities, must end. Special tax breaks for special interests in Washington and the very rich not only hurt our economy, but they burden the middle class and small businesses with higher taxes.  We must restore the progressive income tax system that has served us well since 1913. Globalization and free trade agreements mask a selfish agenda that unfairly exports whole companies and legalizes tax evasion for profits earned here, leaving the average taxpayer to make up for the lost tax revenue.

Elect Stan Jagla - Not high taxes

 

National security and the occupation of Iraq

Only a strong and honest law enforcement community, with some aid from the international law enforcement community, can intercept terrorist plots against the United States. The Bush administration was a complete failure in all aspects of national security. They failed to intercept September 11 plotters, and the handling of post September 11 events proved disastrous. It is proven that, the most effective way to fight terrorists is by law enforcement, and not militarily. A massive plot to blow up several airplanes in the air of the United States was intercepted by the British law enforcement but not by military or private contractors.

We must end the occupation of Iraq, as well associated war taxes and war profiteering. We need to bring our troops home safely and honorably and, if needed, replace them with U. N. peacekeepers to stabilize and rebuild the region. The U.S. Congress must investigate war profiteering, and faulty intelligence that Bush blamed for his decisions in the Middle East, and then turn any evidence over to the U.S. Attorney General for proper prosecutions. We owe our loyalty to our troops, not oil companies and war profiteers. Occupation is not a war. There is no justification to prolong occupation of Iraq. There is no need for the U.S. government to fund military actions in the Middle East that make region unstable.

Elect Stan Jagla - Not war and occupation

 

Healthcare

We need to provide healthcare to all our citizens. There are over 47 million people without access to affordable healthcare, and that number is rising dramatically every year. Therefore, the government must provide access to affordable healthcare to those who do not have any healthcare coverage.  The best plan is to allow people buy into an expanded Medicare, or other form of single payer healthcare system, with free choice of one’s provider.  Those who have private health care coverage may continue to do so. Medicaid can be replaced with the expanded Medicare. Major cost savings can be had by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with the drug companies. We also need to outlaw preexisting condition clauses in health insurance policies, for those that choose to remain with their private insurance. The preexisting condition clauses unfairly enrich health insurance companies at the expense of patients: doctors and hospitals that get stuck with unpaid bills.

Elect Stan Jagla and affordable high quality healthcare

 

Social Security

Our Social Security system is the only dependable way of providing income for the retired, who worked all their lives to make this country great. Opponents have tried to dismantle it since its inception and failed. These days they have a better idea: Why destroy it, when you can loot it (a.k.a. privatization). We cannot allow Washington to privatize our Social Security system, which will lead the elderly to financial ruin and the taxpayers to another bailout. You cannot expect Wall Street to provide for your retirement. The recent stock market events and banking bailouts prove that very clearly. Social Security must be strengthened, not looted.

Elect Stan Jagla and a secure and comfortable retirement

 

Honest Government and Women's rights

We need our government to represent the best interests of all American people; Washington represents the rich, not ordinary people. Washington makes the Sopranos look like amateurs when it comes to making illegal profits. Washington insiders recklessly pursue personal interests over our citizens' best interest. The U. S. Constitution gives enough power to our government to stimulate our economy and protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks, but there are people on Capitol Hill that do not have enough brain power, and guts, to make it happen.

Recently, with wicked court rulings, conservatives are gradually eliminating women's rights. According to those mysterious court rulings, women do not have rights to equal pay for equal work. The accomplishments of the civil rights and laws established in the past 50 years are being reversed. In Washington, corruption is replacing Democracy, corporate monopolies are eliminating the market economy, American workers are replaced with foreign cheap labor, and women are degraded to second-class citizens in the workplace with the help from the Washington government.

Elect Stan Jagla - Not dishonest government

 

Emergency planning

We need a FEMA that will provide water, food and shelter for all of our citizens in times of major disasters. Under the Bush doctrine, only a prayer and sympathy were available for everyone, during major emergencies like New Orleans during Katrina. We need to end abusive and irresponsible government and replace it with government that cares about ALL citizens, not only the friends of politicians.

Elect Stan Jagla and real emergency planning

 

Immigration

There are as many as 50 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. today. We need to develop a comprehensive and fair immigration policy. Illegal immigrants must be treated humanely. On the other hand, our borders must be made reasonably secure. The current immigration policy of doing nothing benefits political donors but not us citizens.

Elect Stan Jagla and realistic immigration policies

 

Resources and natural environment

The current policy of our federal government of using all and any resources creates more pollution. Our dependency on oil is simply not acceptable. If nothing else, speculative oil price spikes benefit only the speculators, who are also typically major political donors.

We can reverse the past 28 years of deliberate mismanagement of our natural resources, which has put us and the rest of the world in a difficult situation. The poisoning of our air, water, and land translates to polluted food that we eat, polluted water that we drink, and polluted air that we must breathe, causing greater rates of illness, depriving our citizens of a high quality of life. Poor fuel efficiency in our vehicles and lack of alternative energy sources renders us helpless hostages to the oil companies and foreign oil sources. With global warming already present and changing weather patterns, we need to increase our efforts as a part of the modern world to promote the necessary industrial and technological changes that can bring us better tomorrow.

Elect Stan Jagla and a better tomorrow

 

Paid for by Stan Jagla for U.S. Senate